Sporting-shoe.



W. J. RILEY.

SPORTING SHOE.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 6, 1908.

93 1 ,343 Patented Aug. 17, 1909.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM J. RILEY, OF EAST BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS.

SPORTING-SHOE No. 931,3as.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM J. RILEY, a citizen of the United States,residing at East Boston, in the county of Suffolk and State ofMassachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inSporting-Shoes; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full,clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enableothers skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use thesame.

The present invention relates to shoes and has for its object to producea shoe to be worn by those persons suffering from weak arches anddesigned to afford a firm support for the arch of the foot and toproduce a strong and flexible shoe and to correct the tendency of thewearer to tread over on the inner side of the foot.

To the above ends the present invention consists of the improved shoewhich will be hereinafter described and claimed.

The present invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawing, inwhich 2- Figure 1 shows my improved shoe in side elevation, looking atthe inner side thereof. Fig. 2 shows a rear elevation, and Fig. 3 showsa transverse section taken on the line AB, in Fig. 1.

Similar reference characters will be em ployed throughout thespecification and drawing to designate corresponding parts.

The shoe comprises an upper 1 which may be of any usual or preferredform and of any suitable material, that shown being the usual form ofupper for sporting shoes, having a foot opening 2 which extends nearlyto the toe 3 and is closed by a lacing (not shown), in the usual manner.

The shoe may be either a welted shoe or a McKay shoe, preferably theformer, and is made up without a shank stiffener for the purpose ofproducing a shoe having a flexible shank, and in order to support thefoot at the inner side of the arch the outer sole 4 is bent or archedupwardly, as shown at 5,1 itting closely against the inner archedportion of the foot and affording a substantial support thereto.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed June 6, 1908.

Patented Aug. 17, 1909.

Serial No. 437,043.

As shown in the drawing, the crown of the arch extends upwardly somedistance above the heel seat. This flexible arched shank 5 is animportant feature of my invention, and it is combined with a spring orwedge heel 6, which, as shown in Fig. 2, is comparatively high at theinner side 7 and comparatively low at the outer side 8. Also the heel 6is gradually increased in height from the point 9 at the back to thepoint 10 at the front on the inner side of the shoe, the outer solebeing abruptly curved upward, as shown at 11, in contact with thethickened portion 10 of the s ring heel. Thus the thickened portion 10of the heel combines with the arched portion 5 of the sole in properlysupporting the foot of the wearer and has a tendency to throw the footof the wearer over from the inner toward the outer side, as the tendencyof all persons with weak arches is to tread toward the inner side.

My shoe is particularly adapted for the use of sportsmen such as runnersand baseball and cricket layers, and when so used it will be preferab yprovided with cleats or prongs 15 at the sole portion and 17 at the eelportion.

Having described my invention, I claim as new and desire to protect byLetters Patent of the United States 2-- A sporting shoe comprising anupper, an outer sole and a spring or wedge hee the wedge heel beinggradually thickened from the outer to the inner side of the shoe andalso from the back of the heel toward the shank of the shoe and theouter sole sharply bent or arched upwardly at the inner shank portion incontact with the heel, the crown of the arch being in a plane above theheel seat and said sole at the shank portion extending upwardly from theouter to the inner side of the shoe, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I 'afhx my signature, in presence of two Witnesses.

WILLIAM J. RILEY.

WVitnesses S. HART ANDERSON, MARY A. KENNEY.

